Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when he realises that he is a creative power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which circumstances grow; he then becomes the rightful master of himself. Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself. No such conditions can exist as descending into vice and its attendant sufferings apart from vicious inclinations, or ascending into virtue and its pure happiness without the continued cultivation of virtuous aspirations; and man, therefore, as the lord and master of thought, is the maker of himself and the shaper of and author of environment.

Get up and get going. Let the power and potential of the circumstances work its magic. If there’s a limit to what you can physically do, at least allow your mind to wander freely in brave new territory. Courage is not the absence of despair, it is rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair. It should be easy to come up with practical, creative solutions to all problems. Forget plans and just resolve to do something that feels like it ’has a ring to it’. That ring, if you trust it, will prove to be made of 24 carat gold. And if you’re not sure what it is you should be doing, treasure your sense of uncertainty. Nurture it. Be proud of it. Remember that every great book begins with a blank sheet of paper. Every wonderful painting starts with an empty canvas. Every beautiful musical composition commences with a moment of silence. Every creative process, no matter how humble, requires you to bring forth something out of nothing. Which is very daunting. Usually, the best way to get going is just to do something. Anything. Then, at least, you’ve got something you can alter or adjust or improve on. That’s why what you are tentatively building is far better than nothing.